Pregnancy is a beautiful thing. It really is. But at 38 weeks, I am honestly pretty bloody over it!

I am so excited to meet my little lady and complete our family. I dream of holding her in my arms and the first time she gets to meet her big brother. And whilst I am so EXCITED to have this lil’ lady in our lives, there are a few things I can not wait to do that are just for me…

Wear shoes: Look, I knew what I was in for when I found out my baby was due in the middle of summer. But I really was not prepared for the colossal size of my feet and the utter pain that went with that. Fluid retention is real people, and it is a real pain in the…well… feet! Not only can my feet no longer fit into any of my favourite shoes, the few they do fit into cause a serious lack of comfort. I cannot WAIT to swap out my (very trusty) thongs for a pair of, well, anything else!

Run: I swore black and blue I would maintain my exercise routine for as long as I could this pregnancy. Well that lasted about 3 weeks, courtesy of severe back pain, fatigue and, honestly, laziness. But boy, do I miss running. Like REALLY miss running. In fact I wrote a post about it. I know that I’ve got a long road ahead of me to get to where I was, but I am really looking forward to it!

Eat: Man, I love food. My favourite foods pretty much include everything on the ‘not recommended for pregnancy list’. Seriously the day this baby is born, I am going to have me some toast with blue cheese, smoked salmon and the runniest poached egg you ever did see!

Sleep on my tummy: I have the biggest case of tummy envy at the moment, and not the- look how flat and fit their tummy is- type but the -look at them laying on their stomachs like it ain’t no thang’- type! I realise that after a c-section I won’t be back on my stomach right away, but boy-oh-boy, when that day comes, it is going to be a happy one.

Share a bed with my husband: Confession time, I have pretty much kicked hubby out of the bed room. Between myself, the size of my belly, the 500 pillows I require to keep me comfortable and the four year old who is likely to crawl into bed with me on any given night, there just isn’t any room for him! We’re both okay with this for now, but we sure do find ourselves staying up just that little bit later so we get extra time together… and I’ve even found myself calling it ‘my room’. I can’t wait for him to fit in there again!

Wrestle with my son: Man, has my little boy been so understanding throughout my pregnancy. He ‘keeps after’ me whilst I nap, he is patient with me whilst I struggle to get off the couch, heck he even rubs my back. He knows that I have a baby in my tummy, and he is really excited about her pending arrival- but I also know that he misses playing with me. I know, because he told me. I have always been such a hands on Mum, and I am still doing my very best. But at this size, I just can’t get down and dirty with him. And I know that I have a bit of a recovery ahead of me after this lil’ lady arrives, and I know I am going to be in a haze of new parent fatigue, but I tell you what… I long for the day I can jump around with him on the trampoline again. And when that day comes, we are going to have a LOT of happy little Joyce’s around here.

What did you long for most when you were pregnant? And was it as satisfying as you’d hoped?